How I Spent My Summer Vacation (2012 film)

Synopsis: “Driver (Gibson) just made a big haul of millions that would give him a nice
summer vacation on easy street. A good idea that went south – literally.
During a high-speed car chase with the US Border Patrol, Driver flips his
car smashing through the border wall, tumbling violently, coming to a stop
in Mexico. Apprehended by the Mexican authorities, he is sent to a hardcore
prison where he enters the strange and dangerous world of “El
Pueblito”, the worst prison in all of Mexico” (GSC Movies).

Verdict: Ah, Mel Gibson‘s finally back doing what he does best – acting in an movie with some old school action and smart humour. How I Spent My Summer Vacation, like its title, is extremely corny, and its plot is probably not very original or inspiring. It can also easily be one of Gibson’s most forgettable film. However, it’s quite an enjoyable watch from beginning to the end. It feels like that they never actually intended to make a good film but it just so happened to turn out to be an entertaining joy ride… in a shitty town-like prison for almost the entire film. For such a low budget and low hype movie, it’s certainly better than what I had expected. See how much a clever script can do for you now?

Second opinion: “Fun to watch” (Iris Loong).

What does gringo means? American or foreigner in Spanish language.

Malaysian censorship: Sorry, folks, I dunno if they’ve cut anything ’cause I didn’t need to watch this at the cinema. The film, otherwise known as Get the Gringo, was actually released elsewhere many months ago. No idea why it’s only released here now. It could be heavily censored ’cause there are a few scenes showing Kid (an underage character played by Kevin Hernandez) smoking, a high level of vulgarity and a bit of violence.

Rating: 3 / 5

[SPOILER SECTION BEGINS HERE]
So what’s the real name of the protagonist? It’s not revealed in the movie. We don’t even know if everything he says is true. At the beginning on the voice over, he says, “But like my old mother always told me – fuck off, loser,” making it seem like he doesn’t have a good relationship with his mum but then later on he tries to comfort and connect with Kid by telling him that he wanted to kill his own dad for beating his mum. The only things certain about him is that he’s a professional thief (he even burnt off his finger prints), a conman & his wife cheated on him (which leads to the awesome ending). And since he can use all the weapons so well, we can also assume that he’s genuinely a former sniper for the U.S army just as he says he is. Names he use on the film are Bozo, Howard, Dennis, Ruben, Dick Richard Johnson, Gringo, Clint Eastwood, Reginald T. Barnes (name of the man whom his wife cheated on him with) and Warren Kaufman. On the closing credits, the character is simply called “Driver” played by Mel Gibson. But then again, Kid and his mother’s names are not mentioned as well.[SPOILER SECTIONS ENDS HERE]